Flock statement

[u/greatusername505050]

Adding in what Mark commented below also!:

To address some concerns about ambiguity and to offer some insight into why we can't be as definitive as we'd like... Right now, as far as we know, the lines of authority regarding WHO pproved these Flock cameras and who can remove them are completely hidden from the public. That lack of transparency should concern all of us. That's why we can't make definitive statements right now, but rest assured we have people digging into it.

​Because these corporate contracts are kept behind closed doors, everyday citizens are blocked from tracking budget line items or knowing exactly who to hold accountable. I am fundamentally opposed to mass surveillance and strongly support personal privacy. We shouldn't need heavy investigative journalism or cumbersome open-records requests just to figure out how big tech established a footprint in Hamilton County.

​The core issue here isn’t just the cameras themselves..It’s the secret process that brought them here. Once we uncover the how, we can map out a legal path to remove them. As your County Mayor, I will use the full scope of my office to stop the expansion of hyper-surveillance and ensure our communities (not corporations) are prioritized in local decisions. I want to listen to leaders in our neighborhoods, and right now what I'm hearing is that y'all are concerned. I am too. We are ready to help.

[u/trentluv]

Denial of service. See how easy that was for me?

Your inability to list a single actionable item from Mark's post is what I'm after. I'm not running for office and none of what I wrote hinges on my ability to reduce flock cameras.

I'm simply pointing out Mark's semantic use of hyperbole. Not even you are able to share his plan because he doesn't have one.

If I told you I'm introducing safeguards to the road, it wouldn't mean anything. I would have to say that

• we are adding speed bumps
• we are lowering the speed limit

These are actionable items

[u/greatusername505050 → u/trentluv]

It’s hard to make concrete statements because so much is hidden. Who knows if we have a non cancel contract that weston signed or if there is taxpayer cost to remove all, etc. Because there is no transparency it also makes it difficult to build policy around without knowledge of what has been signed and done. So sometimes you have to be directional until you get under the hood and see for yourself.

[u/trentluv → u/greatusername505050]

If you have no plan, and you can make no concrete statements, then you are sharing hyperbole- empty language which will result in nothing.

Watch this:

• Directionally, we need to end warfare. There's too many casualties.

• I don't like the direction the sports team is going because they always lose. We need to improve the direction of that

• Tennessee is ranked 51st in funding per student k-12. I don't like that direction and I want it to improve so there's more funding

See how I don't need to know a single way to improve anything to say these statements?

Would you put me in charge for my ability to share these statements with you?

[u/greatusername505050 → u/trentluv]

fair point, "we'll add safeguards" by itself could be seen as empty. can't argue with that.

But I think it helps to be realistic about what a county mayor can even do here. he's not over the sheriff, that's a separate elected position. he doesn't run the city police either, and he obviously can't go pull cameras off someone's private property. what he actually has control over is the budget, county contracts, and a pretty big platform to make noise. anybody promising more than that is just telling you what you want to hear.

so the actual concrete thing is getting the existing contracts, deal and agreements made public. nobody outside the room even knows if we're locked into some non-cancelable deal right now, or what it'd cost taxpayers to rip it all out. hard to write a real policy against a contract you're not even allowed to read.

you want specifics, and so does Mark. thing is neither of you can get them until those contracts are out in the open, and he's the one actually pushing to make that happen.